According to board of directors chair Janet Jarratt, water users will only be affected if they have sold their water rights and severed them from the land.

"If you haven't (sold them), it does nothing to you," she said. "This is really important so we can have an accurate accounting of water. It is my intention that every drop of district water be put to beneficial use. In times of need, we need to be able to curtail usage in favor of those who have not sold their rights. I'm not going to say the new policy is perfect, but it is better than it was. The district will work in conjunction with the Office of the State Engineer to have good accountability of water."

The problem arises when a property owner sells his, or her, water rights, but continues to irrigate the property, Jarratt said. "There are cases where people don't know they don't have water rights," she said. "Right now, real estate brokers aren't required to disclose that a piece of property has had the water rights sold. That is part of the problem."

Another part of the problem was the state's own Office of the State Engineer (OSE), Jarratt said. For years, when an individual sold their water rights, the OSE did not regularly inform the district of the change and the fact that the property no longer had irrigation rights.

And with development and subdivision coming to the district's benefitted area, there are new people moving in, who are unfamiliar with New Mexico water rights, and the fact that while you may own the dirt, you don't necessarily own the water that goes with it. This is a problem Jarratt has been concerned with during her two years on the MRGCD board, and even before her election to office.

"It was a lot of work, but we got it done," she said. "This is such an important matter. We have to have good accountability of our water."

The new policy, which was approved in late May, is effective immediately. Essentially, if information from the OSE shows that there has been a transfer of pre-1907 water rights from a piece of property, notification sent to landowners that no further irrigation can take place on that property and if is determined that the land is still being irrigated, the district will initiate contact with the property owner and give them the chance to correct the assumption that they can irrigate.

The landowner must be able to provide proof of an alternative source of water for irrigation, including the district's water bank. Without that proof, the property's access to irrigation water through the MRGCD works shall be terminated prior to the upcoming irrigation season.

One of the key differences between the old water bank lease policy and the new is the lease limits - now leases are limited to a maximum of a one- year term instead of the previous maximum of five years. The revised policy clarifies that leases are only for agriculture and related purposes, thus precluding potential abuses of the fluctuating supply of water.

Also under the new policy, the board will meet monthly to determine the water supply availability for fulfillment of the leases and provide for a minimum five days notice. Previously, the policy stated that the board could modify or terminate a loan agreement to provide for priority delivery with 30 days notice. Jarratt said this change allows the district to be far more responsive to changing climate conditions, thereby better safeguarding senior water rights.

The new policy is very specific that all leases are junior in priority to all other water delivered through conservancy works and says that there are two time periods during which leases may be processed - beginning season and late season. On or about March 1, the district staff shall make available to the board and the public an assessment of water available for the irrigation season, based on best available information regarding snow pack, climate conditions, average precipitation and other pertinent information.

Based on that information and any subsequent, the district shall make determinations regarding water available to fulfill leases and curtailment of leases.

The revised policy also requires all information related to any lease be recorded in the water bank record, details that previously were not documented and consolidated.

Jarratt again emphasized that the new policy does not affect landowners and irrigators who have held on to their water rights. "If you haven't sold them, it doesn't affect you," she said. "But if you have and you're still irrigating, the district will make sure you have a proper source."